Sowing On Clay Soil

Ok firstly I want to say a big hi. I'm a new member and I've decided to join the forum community!

Hope you are all well and good :D

Here goes. I'm not a massive gardener but ever since getting my first house I have tried to make the garden look respectable at least. I moved in last summer and i put in some bulbs and a nice border. The bulbs have just started to come up now, and they look great.

Where my lawn is meant to be though is just a pile of dirt! There was like a mesh (which i ripped up) under lots of bark chippings and lots of shingle. I suspect that it was to rid the weeds. At first I didn't realise that the ground was clay, but after buying some hand tools I soon realised that it was. The ground is just full of shingle. It doesn't look nice at all! It doesn't make it any better as my garden does not have a fence at the back and people must come by and think I'm a right scruffy git!

The next door neighbour layed some turf last summer and I've just noticed that most of it is dying. I'm thinking that there isn't enough drainage maybe? Ive read that you need to add some sharp sand to clay soils, is this a must?

What is the best solution for me to get a nice lawn? You could never rid this shingle and I'm unsure if is there on purpose for drainage purposes or just dumped by lazy builders.

I'm not an expert on this and I would value your opinions. I just want to add that it is not real heavy clay. I have worked on building sites in the past where you can hardly walk through it. This isn't as bad as that. Im unsure if i should be turning this ground or just putting topsoil on top.

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi and welcome to the forums.

I'm a novice gardener and I love it. I like to kid myself on that I know what i'm doing :p

Anyway, where I live the only soil is clay soil :(
When I first moved into our house the front garden was full of weeds/moss.
What I did was this:-

1. Weed and moss killer down. This turns everything black. (my wife was a bit nervous at this stage I wouldn't get it back)
2. I spiked the ground.
3. I bought 2 bags of sharp sand and threw it over the ground. I then brushed the sand into the holes.
4. A quick scarify of the ground. I have a cheap manual scarifyier which has me puffing and panting LOL.
5. Throw grass seed down. It was general grass seed. It's hard wearing and you see it starting to grow within 2 weeks.
6. Water VERY well.
7. Do NOT cut the grass till it's well established.
8. I now feed it in the Autumn and Spring with a general feed bought from Aldis.
9. I scarify through out the year.
10. Raise the hieght in your lawnmower in Autumn and winter.
11. Reduce the height in Spring and lower again in Summer.

End results is a green green lawn with very little weeds and moss.

 

Hi ArcticFox.

Thanks for your reply. I dont have any moss, its just a pile of dirt!

What do you think I should do about the stones? It wouldnt be as bad if it wasnt for them!

Thankyou for all your tips, i will remember them!

 

If there any large stones/rocks, pick them out.
The dirt I would suggest to start raking it out. Try as much to level it out. On top of the dirt, I would throw down large amounts of sharp sand. On top of the sharp sand I would then throw down large amounts of compost. Give it a rake over so the compost and sand combine. Once this has been down, I would assume you are ready to sow your lawn, or lay it.

 

When you say shingle, do you mean the tiny stones are smooth and rounded (that's what I think of as shingle), or are they sharp and jagged? It its the former, and they're in clay, then come summer it will set like concrete. Roots won't penetrate, and when it rains after a long dry spell the rainwater will just sit on top of the ground for days.

How big is the area?

If it is only smallish (when I say small, I just mean typical suburban lawn size) then I'd be tempted to excavate off the top few inches, break up the ground below, and make a new top soil surface. I don't think I'd go to the expense of buying tonnes of good topsoil though. Me being a cheapskate, I'd order a couple of bulk bags of sharp sand from the local builder's merchants, and a couple of bulk bags of compost. Chuck the whole lot over the surface, mixing it as you go along. I'd then level it, and either seed over it or turf it.

If its a larger area, then my plan just wouldn't be practical, and I wouldn't have a clue what to do.

 

Thanks for the replies.

This is the problem, there is no way im getting rid of the stones, there are just too many of them as far as about a foot down. Thats what i was thinking about doing, digging out some and re filling it with topsoil and sharp sand.

Problem is that Im very low on money atm, but I dont want to just do it for the sakes of it and then it turns out wrong...

They are the rounded stones. I didnt know if they were there for drainage or just dumped.

Ps. The area is not that big to be honest, just your average new build garden size. About 30 ft by 8-10 ft.

 

Topsoil and Clay Soil Improvement with compost

Hi JimJohn

Clay soils can really benefit from an application of some home made compost or peat free green waste compost, see if you can steal some from a friendly neighbours compost bin/ heap or buy some from a good topsoil supplier. Just addd a layer (as much as you like from 1 inch to 6 inches, any amount will help) over the clay topsoil and work it in with a fork or rotivator if its a big area.

Compost helps to break up clays by adding organic matter, which breaks up the clay structure and has the added benefit of improving your soils fertility.

It also really speeds up the establishment of turf.... i use organic or peat free compost made from recycled garden waste all over my garden it really is great!!